These 20 Terrifying Places In Nebraska Will Haunt Your Dreams Tonight
Do you believe in ghosts? According to paranormal enthusiasts, lots of places in Nebraska are inhabited by restless spirits that just can’t seem to move on. Most stay near the places they died, perhaps as a warning to others or maybe because they can’t accept their violent and untimely deaths. Whatever the reason, below are the 20 scariest places in Nebraska.
Built in 1903, the Alliance Theater was originally the Charter Hotel. It was turned into a theater in 1938. It isn't clear when the hauntings began, but employees say that they see shadowy figures and hear running footsteps in the hallways. The owner is confident that if the theater really is haunted, it's by a friendly ghost.
There's a field behind the caretaker's house at Antelope Park. Visitors have reported many sightings of apparitions walking across the field and into the woods on the other side.
People have reported some truly crazy happenings at this cemetery, which is thought to be one of the most haunted places in Nebraska. A tall male apparition sometimes attacks nighttime visitors. and a female ghost laughs, speaks, and tugs on people's clothing. Photographs taken here often contain anomalies which believers swear are evidence of ghostly presences.
Barnard Park is now an historic district of Fremont with homes surrounding a lovely park. However, that park is said to have once been a cemetery. When the city relocated the cemetery, some of the bodies were accidentally left behind. Their spirits roam the area at night, including a woman who reportedly can be seen crying.
Read more about it right here.
Read more about it right here.
Blackbird Hill contains the grave of Omaha Indian Chief Blackbird, but it is not his spirit that haunts the site. It is the ghost of a woman who was murdered by her husband when she told him of her plans to leave him for a former lover. The husband stabbed his wife, then carried her to the nearby cliff and jumped off into the river below, killing them both. It is said that every October 17th, the woman's screams can be heard echoing across the hill.
Read more about it right here.
Read more about it right here.
Civil War captain Bailey's beautiful house is one of the crown jewels of historic Brownville. It is now a museum that is said to be haunted by Captain Bailey. Bailey was reportedly poisoned by a jealous neighbor, but even after death the captain couldn't leave his home. Museum staff and visitors report that certain doors refuse to stay closed and that phantom piano music can be heard here at night.
Nebraska's oldest standing high school building was built in 1897 and operated as Valentine Public School. It is now a museum, but the ghost of a former student roams the halls. The girl died when someone poisoned her clarinet reed in 1944. Before the school was converted, teachers reported seeing the little girl's ghost while feeling a general sense of unwell. Today, music can still be heard coming from the music room...even though there have been no instruments inside for years.
Read more about it right here.
Read more about it right here.
Colleges seem to be hotbeds for ghostly activity, and Concordia University is no exception. David Hall, a residence hall on campus, is said to be haunted by Native Americans whose bones were dug up in the 1970s during construction of the building. Some of the ghostly happenings include showers and appliances randomly turning themselves off and on.
A dirt road a few miles north of McCook leads to a place locals call Devil's Canyon. More than 100 years ago, a man is said to have murdered his own wife and children before taking his own life. His ghost can reportedly be seen wandering the area as he causes cars and other mechanical objects to malfunction.
The story of the Fort Sidney Museum (which formerly served as officers' quarters) says that a young officer's wife fell down the stairs while carrying a load of laundry and broke her neck in 1885. The grief-stricken husband had the stairs boarded up, but visitors heard the sounds of someone walking, and then tumbling, down a flight of stairs. The stairway was uncovered in 1975 (though access is closed off to museum visitors), and the young woman's ghost can still be heard today.
The halls of Hastings College are said to be home to several ghosts. Two of the most well-known are a music professor and a kind woman. The music professor can sometimes be seen as a human-like apparition or as floating orbs. He is known to randomly switch lights off and on. The second ghost is Clara Altman, namesake of Altman Hall where her spirit now resides. Clara protects the living residents but sometimes plays jokes on them like knocking on doors and turning lights and radios off and on.
Widely reported as one of Nebraska's most haunted places, Hummel park has no shortage of legends attached to it. Many people believe that lynchings took place in the park, a set of concrete stairs has a different number of steps every time you travel it, and that there is a colony of albinos living in a wooded area - all of which have been proven untrue. Still, spooky things have been known to happen here. Satanic rituals, shadowy figures, and phantom lights have been reported in the park. It has been reported that the bodies of several murder victims were dumped in the park in the late 20th century, which some say is the reason for the plentiful hauntings.
Read more about it right here.
Read more about it right here.
Though it has since been torn down (the bridge above is a modern vehicle bridge), a former railroad bridge over Logan Creek is said to have been the site of a vengeance killing. Vigilantes in the early 1900s held up a train that carried a man had murdered his employers; the man was dragged out and hanged from the railroad trestle. Witnesses say the apparition of the hanging man can be seen above the creek where the bridge once stood.
The Neville Center - formerly the Fox Theater - is said to be haunted by an unknown spirit. Witnesses have reported feeling a cold touch on their hands and sudden temperature drops in the theater's balcony lighting booth. A local ghost hunting group said the building is definitely haunted after conducting an investigation of the premises.
This site has long been rumored to be haunted by some kind of supernatural entity. Shadowy figures and unexplained voices have been experienced by regular visitors and ghost hunters alike.
Read more about it right here.
Read more about it right here.
(The small town's main street is pictured above to preserve the privacy of the home's current occupants.) A two-story home in Maxwell is said to have been the scene of several deaths. Many of these poor souls haunt the house today, according to locals and even the home's owners. One young boy died when he fell down the stairs on the way to the outhouse and broke his neck; another boy hanged himself in the home. A baby who died of SIDS in the home can be heard crying in the night. Thumping and other unexplained noises have been reported over the years as well.
The tale of the doomed seven sisters is well known in the Nebraska City vicinity. In the late 19th century, a man was said to have argued with his seven daughters (though some say it was a brother angry with his sisters) and led them out one by one, hanging them each from trees on separate hills. In modern times, people driving through the area have heard women screaming and have experienced vehicle malfunctions such as stalling and battery drain. A nearby cemetery adds to the mystery and spookiness of the area.
Read more about it right here.
Read more about it right here.
This restaurant is supposedly built on the former site of a well where a murder victim was found. The ghost of the victim - known as Faceless Fred thanks to the state in which his body was found - is said to throw pots and pans around in the kitchen. That's not to say that the restaurant is not worth visiting - in fact, many Nebraskans consider it to be one of the best dining rooms in the state.
Read more about it right here.
Read more about it right here.
Although only one death is known to have taken place here - a Cheyenne warrior named Yellow Hair - the site is said to be haunted by several entities. They can sometimes be heard speaking in Cheyenne while a green mist surrounds the marker documenting the site of the battle.
Read more about it right here.
Read more about it right here.
Multiple ghosts have been reported on campus. Two of the most often-mentioned are Clara, a girl who committed suicide in the basement of Neihardt Hall, and a girl who was accidentally electrocuted while playing near a bare electrical wire. The latter ghost is said to roam the tunnels between the dorm buildings.
What do you think, paranormal enthusiasts? Are these places haunted or not? If you choose to explore on your own, please be aware that several of these locations are on private property and you need the owners’ permission before visiting.
Want more hauntings? Read our list of haunted hotels in Nebraska here!
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Address: Alliance Theatre, 410 Box Butte Ave, Alliance, NE 69301, USA
Address: Antelope Park, Lincoln, NE 68502, USA
Address: 20798 S 176th St, Springfield, NE 68059, USA
Address: Barnard Park, Fremont, NE 68025, USA
Address: Blackbird Hill, Anderson, NE 68039, USA
Address: 412 Main St, Brownville, NE 68321, USA
Address: Valentine, NE 69201, USA
Address: 800 N Columbia Ave, Seward, NE 68434, USA
Address: Devils Canyon, North Pine, NE 69210, USA
Address: Fort Sidney Rd, Sidney, NE 69162, USA
Address: 710 Turner Ave, Hastings, NE 68901, USA
Address: Hummel Rd, Omaha, NE 68112, USA
Address: Logan Creek Rd, Pender, NE 68047, USA
Address: North Platte, NE 69101, USA
Address: Columbus, NE 68601, USA
Address: E Plumer Ave, Maxwell, NE 69151, USA
Address: L Rd, Nebraska, USA
Address: The Speakeasy, 72993 S Rd, Holdrege, NE 68949, USA
Address: Warbonnet Creek, Bowen, NE 69346, USA
Address: 1111 Main St, Wayne, NE 68787, USA
scariest places in nebraska
March 07, 2021
Can I visit any abandoned places in Nebraska?
While there are plenty of ghost towns and abandoned relics of prairie life here in Nebraska, perhaps the most famous abandoned spot in the state, the Norfolk Regional Center, was torn down in 2016, and it can no longer be visited. That doesn't mean you'll never get to see it, though. Thanks to photographs and local lore, the story of the center lives on. Read more about it right here and take a peek back in time to see it for yourself.
Are there any ghost towns in Nebraska?
Many of our ghost towns fell apart and were reclaimed by the wind when they were abandoned, but there are still several that you can visit to see for yourself. While you're walking through, be sure to take your time and really look at the ruins. Try to imagine what life was like out here during the mining booms and busts, the Great Depression, and the Dust Bowl. To see a few of the most interesting ghost towns, head out on our Ghost Town Road Trip through Nebraska.
Are there haunted battlefields in Nebraska?
The plains of Nebraska were frontline battlegrounds for indigenous people trying to defend their home, and American settlers determined to expand their new country. At Warbonnet Creek, a short skirmish between The United States Army and a group of Cheyenne warriors. The Army, led by Buffalo Bill Cody, set a trap for the Cheyenne, and their leader, Yellow Hair, was killed. The rest of the tale is grim and sad, and when you read it, you'll understand why many restless spirits remain at this spot.
